Heritage
by reckiewriter
Summary: "Heritage" refers to something inherited from the past, sometimes even when you think you've cut all ties it draws you back.  A missing Corpsman takes the NCIS team on a road trip they never thought they'd go on.
1. Chapter 1

Tony DiNozza, Special Agent, sat at his desk flipping through the most recent copy of Cars Monthly, sighing periodically and looking at the clock.

"If you are that board Tony, why don't you close up early for the day. Tell Gibbs that you have an appointment or something." Special Agent, Timothy McGee asked as he looked up from the screen he had been engrossed in for the better part of an hour.

"I tried that yesterday McGoon." Tony shot back. "I don't remember it being this quiet in some time."

"It has been great. I have been able to catch up on several case reports." Ziva David sighed as she stretched her hands above her head at her own desk across from the arguing agents.

"Well, I've been done my reports since yesterday." Tony informed.

"He even had time to draw pictures to go along with his reports." Tim added.

"Ha ha." Tony snapped. "What have you been doing, you seem to be the only one that appears to be working on something new."

"I'm just following up on some things for the Director." Tim shared smugly.

"Why didn't the Director ask one of us to help him out?" Ziva asked.

"I guess I just have the skill set to be able to complete the task." Tim returned.

"More like the ability to kiss but the best." Tony finished.

"Grab your gear! Missing Corpsman." Head Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs called out as he passed through the office with his coffee in one hand and his hand grabbing his jacket with the others.

All three bickering agents stopped everything and grabbed their packs before following their boss out of the office.

"Hospital Corpsman Jacob Lapp, did not report to duty today at the base Hospital on Quantico last night. HE apparently hasn't been seen for almost three days now." Gibbs reported to his team as they came up the steps to the small apartment that apparently was rented to Jacob Lapp. "His absence from his shift raised some concerns by other staff at the hospital." As they approached the apartment door, Ziva tried the door and it opened without a problem.

"How many people do you know leave their doors unlocked?" Ziva asked as they slowly pushed the door open to reveal a small apartment that appeared to be relatively empty. Lived in, but empty in things and personal belongings. A small table and one chair filled the kitchen. One comfortable looking chair with a table covered in books, and reading material and a lamp beside it. No TV or Stereo system, no CDS or movies. The Bedroom was clean with a bed made in military style neatness. What appeared to be his uniform laying on his bed. No pictures or posters adorned any of the walls, a bible sat on the bedside table.

"This guy didn't have much of a flare for decorating." Tony observed as they looked in the bathroom.

"He hasn't been here for a few days." Tim commented as he opened the fridge and noted the milk souring and the few vegetables going mouldy.

"He reads German." Ziva noted as she picked up the bible.

"Apparently he's into strange hats too." Tony pulled a straw hat out of the closet. "And prefers to wear suspenders instead of belts."

"That style of hat looks familiar." Gibbs commented as he came behind the team in the small bedroom. "I've seen hats like that before,"

"Tony I need you to go and talk with the neighbours. McGee take back the close, and some of the other personal items and get back to the office and start doing a background on this Corpsman. Ziva you're with me, we're heading over to the hospital to talk with his CO and some of the other staff."

"Yes Boss." The team echoed and separated to complete their assigned tasks.


	2. Chapter 2

Tony paused and watched as Tim collected the personal items around the apartment. A key to the mailbox hung near the door.

"Check the mailbox on the way out Probie," Tony suggested. "Maybe we'll get lucky with some type of ransom letter or something."

"I highly doubt it. If this guy hadn't such a good attendance record with his post, he could have just disappeared and no one would have missed him." Tim sighed as he bent down to look under the bed.

"I would have thought you might feel a close connection with this missing Corpsman, considering you both apparently have no social life worth talking about, and you've obviously shared the same home interior decorator." Tony offered as he left to search out a neighbour. Tim ignored the comment and pulled a shoebox out from under the bed and opened it up revealing letters. Hand written letters mostly in what appeared to be German with a few English words thrown into the mix, the neat printing on plan school paper were dated every two weeks. Most of them were signed by a Rachel Zook. He couldn't make out the return address but he figured that Abby the best Lab Tech for NCIS might be able to figure it out. Collecting the items he headed out of the apartment.

* * *

Knocking on the door of the next apartment, Tony cleared his throat. The door opened and an elderly woman answered the door.

"Can I help you?" The woman asked.

"Yes, my name is Special Agent DiNozzo, we are investigating a neighbour of yours that has gone missing. Do you have any information that might help us with our investigation?" Tony asked and the woman looked at him and then looked closer at the badge that Tony held in his hand.

"Are you talking about that nice young Navy boy?" The woman asked.

"Yes, that's the one."

"'He fixed all my dining room chairs." The woman opened the door and let him come in. "They were from my Husband's family, and we've had them for years. The rungs were coming loose and one of the chairs was so baldy broken no one could sit on it, not even Flossy over there could." The woman pointed to a large fat cat sunning itself in the window.

"I see." Tony looked at the open door to the hallway and tried to estimate how far he could safely come in without being trapped by the woman and her stories.

"He offered and he had them fixed better than new three days later. You can't even tell they've been repaired. Such wonderful workmanship. Something that you don't see every day anymore. He didn't even charge me for them. He said that it was the least he could do for his elders." The woman sighed with the memory. "Such old fashion charm from such a young man can you imagine?"

"No, I can't." Tony nodded. "So, getting back to Jacob missing?"

"Oh yes, I haven't seen him I a few days. I thought I saw a friend stop by a few days ago, and ever since then I haven't heard anything from his place." The woman paused. "Although I barely ever hear him. He's so quiet."

"Thank you Mrs..?" Tony asked hoping the lady would offer her name.

"Oh, you can just call me Mitzy, everyone does." The lady smiled and Tony grimaced with the thought that the woman might be flirting with him.

"If you can remember anything else to help us with our investigation, please don't hesitate to call." Tony handed her a business card.

"If I think of anything, I promise I'll call." Mitzy nodded and Tony smiled and turned to leave, sighing with relief and counting his lucky stars that the woman hadn't asked him in for tea and cookies.

* * *

"This is Hospital Corpsman Lapp's locker." The hospital security officer provided as he walked up to the locked locker and opened the lock.

"Thank you." Ziva returned and went to open the locker. There was a second pair of shoes, obviously worn only in the hospital, other than the shoes there was nothing else worth noting.

"Do you think he new he leaving? Perhaps this is more for the MP's to be dealing with as a desertion." Ziva asked as she turned back to Gibbs.

"Jacob would never desert." A soft voice came from the hallway.

"What makes you think he wouldn't?" Gibbs asked as they walked towards the nurse.

"I heard that NCIS was investing Jacob's disappearance." The woman paused. "My name is Colleen Grant. Jacob and I have been working the same rotation for the past six months. He hasn't missed a day of work in that entire time. He even worked double shifts when we were short staffed." Colleen started.

"Just because someone has perfect attendance does not decide if a person will desert." Ziva started.

"Jacob loves his job." Colleen was adamant. "He said that he had to give up a lot to do what he was doing."

"Do you know what he meant by that?" Gibbs asked.

"He never really shared much about his family and life prior to joining the service. Just that one of his younger sisters had been killed just before he joined." Colleen shared. "He is very good at his work, he connects well with a lot of the Marines that are recovering here. I've heard him talk with them and he's such a great listener."

"Colleen's right. Hospital Corpsman Lapps recent performance appraisal was great. I had just put through the paperwork to promote him. Chief Hospital Corpsman Richards, I'm Hospital Corpsman Lapps reporting officer."

"So why is it that you think something is wrong here? Maybe the Corpsman got a phone call from his family and he had to return home and just forgot to call in." Ziva suggested.

"I doubt that Sir. Jacob never took phone calls."

"He didn't have a cell phone?" Ziva asked with doubt.

"Oh no, he has a cell phone, but most of the time its off and it goes directly to voice mail." Richards shared. "He doesn't have an email address outside of his work one that we know of, and he's the least tech savvy young man I've met."

"So how do you reach the Corpsman when you need him?" Gibbs wanted some more clarification.

"We never had to worry about it up until two days ago. He just was here." Richards admitted. "He also checked his messages on his off days at certain times during the day. He normally would call back within two hours of a message being left. He also reported for roll call prior to reporting for shift each morning"

"So was Lapp acting odd or off the shift before he disappeared?" Ziva asked.

"No, he spent a lot of his down time with one patient talking and comforting him." Colleen shared. "That isn't odd for Jacob though. He normally connects quickly with any of the boys that are from farming backgrounds."

"Is this patient still here?" Gibbs asked.

"No." Colleen started.

"Was his sent home or to rehab? Is there a place we can connect with him to see what the two talked about, it may help point us in some direction." Ziva asked.

"I'm afraid it won't be that easy, he died last night." Richards shared and the four of them stopped talking for a moment and looked at each other.


	3. Chapter 3

Tim walked into Abby's lab with the box of personal belongings of missing man and noticed that Abby was reading a book at her desk.

"Quite day?' Tim asked as he put the box down on Abby's evidence table.

"I was just doing some journal reading." Abby shared. "It has been slow, but now it won't be as I see my favourite agent has brought me a challenge." She started to pull the items out of the bags and put them out in front of her.

"Challenge is one way of seeing it."

"So where is the rest of it?" Abby asked as she pulled the box of letters out and emptied the box.

"This is it Abbs. There wasn't even a computer to find some helpful information."

"Really? A bible, a funny hat, some things from the bathroom and a box full of letters written in some strange language?"

"Yup. I'm going to go do some background work for this guy. Good Luck."

"Thanks McGee." Abby turned back to the letters hoping that she would be able to translate them.

* * *

"Report!" Gibbs barked as he came around the office with Ziva in tow. "It better be more than what we got at the hospital."

"All I got from this guys neighbour is that he was quite, good with hand tools and fixing furniture and he was a good neighbour." Tony shared. "Although Mitzy would get back to us if she could think of anything else. All the leads to his mystery friend have gone cold so far." Gibbs rolled his eyes and turned back to McGee.

"You have more to share I hope?"

"I left the personal items with Abby. Hospital Corpsman Jacob Lapp has been serving since the winter of 2007. His service history is full of high recommendations from his superiors and peers. He also received the silver lifesaver medal after his tour in the Middle East in 2009. He's been stationed stateside for the past 6 months, prior to that he was stationed on the USS Truman." Tim shared and then stopped. "Prior to his recruitment in 2007, Jacob Lapp is a mystery. He applied for his Social Security number in the Spring of 2006 at 17 years old. He had no drivers license before basic training, he completed his GED during Basic training when his aptitude tests pointed him in the direction of Medical services. His birth certificate says he was born at home, there is no formal education enrolment in any public schools. There is no next of kin mentioned on any of his files. He appears to be alone in this world." Tim finished.

"According to the nurse he works with, she mentioned something about a sister being killed before he enlisted. If there is a little sister than it is quite possible that there is more family." Ziva added.

"Okay! You won't believe how amazing Ducky is!" Abby burst into the discussion. "I couldn't wait to share my information with you so I came up. I brought Ducky with me." The team looked over at NCIS's Chief Medical Examiner and he looked a little sheepish for all the excitement, but looked like his had something to share with the group.

"So what is it?" Gibbs asked.

"I was in my lab trying to translate the letters that Tim brought me and Ducky here wandered over to say hello. I told him of the strange language and he looked at the letters and before I knew it he had helped figure something out."

"The language is a very specific dialect of German, known by some as Pennsylvania Dutch. It's not the most common German, but it is a language shared by our Old Order Amish and Mennonite citizens." Ducky started.

"Amish?" Ziva asked. "I am not familiar with these people? Are they American?"

"Oh yes my dear. They are a Christian denomination that share a very unique and separate way of life." Ducky was going to continue but he caught something up on the screen. "Where did you say this missing man was from Timothy?"

"I hadn't gotten that far Ducky. I was just going to report that according to his Naval records he put Nickel Mines Pennsylvania down as 'hometown.'"

"Very interesting, and you said his little sister was killed just before he enlisted in 2006?" Ducky continued.

"Yes."

"I wonder if she was one of the little girls murdered in the Nickel Mines School Shooting."

"Ducky? Where are you going with this." Gibbs prompted his eccentric friend

"Well Jethro, It sounds like you're missing Corpsman is possibly raised within the Amish community, it does make the most logical sense when reviewing his history" Ducky finally shared with team his conclusion.


	4. Chapter 4

"Why would this matter?" Ziva asked still not understanding the significance.

"Well the biggest thing is that Old Order Amish try to stay out of mainstream America's ways and the most important is that the Amish don't believe in participating in Military Service as they have a very passionate and spiritual regard to following the Christian scriptures that encourage alternative ways of dealing with conflict, and consider themselves Pacifists." Ducky shared.

"Corpsman Lapp is a member of the US Navy, and has seen active duty. Why would someone with the background you talk about do such a thing." Ziva asked.

"Those are very good questions." Ducky shrugged. "I don't know the answer to that."

"Why does Nickel Mines sound familiar?" Tony asked.

"There was a shooting in an Amish School house there." Tim announced, he had gone back to his computer and had pulled up the old media files. "The shooter new a lot of the children, and only shot the little girls. Several of the children died in the School house that day."

"Jacob Lapp said one of his little sisters was killed, she must have been one of the murdered schoolgirls." Ducky sighed. "That poor young man."

"So, how does this relate to his disappearance." Ziva announced drawing the attention back to the information at hand. "There is a missing Corpsman."

"Perhaps the young man just went home." Ducky suggested.

"Then why wouldn't he just apply for a leave?' Tony asked. "Saves us from doing all this work."

"McGee, have you been able to get any phone records? What about his bank statements?" Gibbs returned back hoping that they could get a bit more information from the usual places.

"He has a bank account, but there hasn't been any unusual transfers or withdrawals, it looks like it was opened by the Navy for him when he enlisted, prior to that he had no bank account. He does not have any credit cards. The last time money was taken out it was two days before Lapp disappeared. He withdrew the same amount of money he normally takes out on Mondays."

"No credit?" Tony asked in surprise as he didn't know anyone without a credit card.

"No, and he does not spend a lot of his money. He has considerable savings and no debt that I can see. As for phone records, he receives a phone call every Saturday from this number." McGee circled the number. "The other numbers are from the hospital or the base." McGee shared.

"Where is the number located." Gibbs asked as he recognized the area code.

"From Pennsylvania, not too far from Nickel Mines." McGee shared.

"So, does that mean what I think it means?" Tony asked.

"Grab your gear." Gibbs nodded and then turned back to McGee. "You stay here."

"Yes boss." Tim nodded. He had to complete the work for the Director, and although the team was unsure what the work entailed, Tim would rather stay back to complete the work then spend hours in the car with Tony.

"So, Ducky. When I was a kid, my parents took us on a trip to Indiana I somehow think I remember hearing that there was a large Amish community in that state." Abby started as the two turned to walk back towards there respective department.

"Actually my dear, I believe your parents were confused, that state hosts a very large population of people who consider themselves Mennonite. Very similar in their views on non violent practices and choices of not participating in any military actions, yet they are on the whole a more progressive group." The two continued their conversation as they walked.

The rest of the team had already headed for the car.


	5. Chapter 5

Ziva had lost the draw for driving and found herself in the back seat, so the entire drive was spent looking out the window when she was not engaged in conversation with her team mates. Gibbs liked to drive in silence so Ziva watched the scenery. As they came into Lancaster County Ziva couldn't help but notice the farm fields green with crops, and lush orchards filled with fruit. The first horse and buggy went by without comment, but as they drove on, another few horse drawn buggies were noted. Another thing Ziva saw was young children sitting at the roadside stands, looking like something out of a pioneer story book.

"Why are all those children wearing costumes? There parents must not be paying attention to what they put on their offspring." Ziva commented finally.

"They're not wearing costumes Ziva." Tony started.

"I do not understand." Ziva continued.

"They're Amish." Gibbs returned.

"Amish, like this missing Corpsman?" Ziva continued.

"Haven't you ever watched Witness?" Tony turned so he could see his team mate. "Harrison Ford goes into hiding with an Amish family to protect them from a group of corrupt policemen?"

"No, I have never seen the movie." Ziva returned.

"That's what makes this new case so interesting Ziva, you are in for an education in strange American cultures." Tony turned around almost giggling but stopped when he looked over at Gibbs and noted that his boss did not look as enthusiastic about the comment he just made.

"They wear such clothing on purpose?" Ziva asked. "Why do they not drive cars like everyone else?" Ziva continued to question.

"Maybe we could call Ducky. He seemed to understand these people better."

"Maybe we just focus on finding Lapp." Gibbs returned refocusing his team. They pulled into a small town, several horse and buggies were hitched just outside what looked like a general store. A large bus was just pulling away full of tourists. Tony walked to the curb and found a pay phone and looked at the number written on the phone.

"Looks like this was the phone that called Lapp's cell phone." Tony announced.

"Lets go inside, see if anyone can tell us anything." Gibbs suggested as they walked up the stairs and into the store. The small bell above the door jingled as the team walked into the store. A small gift shop with handmade quilts and hand carved items filled the shelves. As they walked further into the store they came to a counter that was filled with jams and jellies as well as baked goods. The rest of the store held a jumble of items and dry goods.

"Hello can I help you?" A young woman wearing a dark dress with an apron came up to the counter with a welcoming smile. She had her blond hair pulled back and covered with a white head covering.

"We're looking for Jacob Lapp." Tony started and the woman smiled again only covering her mouth this time as she tried not to laugh outloud.

"I'm sorry." The woman paused and waited for Tony to finish.

"Jacob Lapp?" Tony tried again.

"Yes, I heard you the first time. Jacob Lapp is a very common name in the part of the County. I could tell you about six or seven Jacob Lapps, ranging from just a small boppli to someone who is nearing the end of their life here on earth. Which Jacob Lapp are you looking for?"

"Boppli?" Tony asked.

"I think it means baby." Ziva whispered.

"Yes, it means baby." The woman nodded.

"Well this Jacob Lapp has been living in the Washington DC area for the past few years." Gibbs started trying to get the investigation back on track. The woman paused.

"A few men leave every year when they are young and not members of the church yet. You must speak of one of those boys. I'm sorry I can't be any more help." The woman shared.

"Thank you for your help." Tony nodded and the three of them left.

"Maybe if we can find the sheriff, he might be more help." Ziva suggested. It wasn't long before they found the Sherriff's office a small office that appeared to be closed.

"If you are looking for Sherriff Hunter he's over at Anna Maes having lunch." A boy about twelve suggested. He wore modern looking clothes and had a baseball cap on his head he leaned on a bicycle and chewed a wade of bubble gom.

"Thank you." Gibbs nodded as the boy pointed across the street to the restaurant.

"You do not dress like the other children I have seen around here." Ziva commented.

"Like the Amish kids?" The boy asked again.

"Yes.."

"That's cause I'm not Amish! Not everyone in Nickel Mines is Amish yah know." The boy climbed onto his bike and muttered something about tourists as he took off down the street. The three agents headed across the street to the restaurant and saw the Sherriff sitting at a table by himself eating a large piece of what looked like homemade pie. The three agents approached offered some introductions and sat down with him at his table. Gibbs filled the lawman in on the case so far and watched as the man took it all in.

"Marion Fisher was right about the name, although that Jacob Lapp hasn't been seen for many years. I thought it was because he couldn't deal with all the media attention from the Amish school house shooting, but I think he'd been planning on leaving for some time. His Rumspringa lasted a lot longer than most of the other young Amish kids. Normally that is a good indicator that he wanted out of the lifestyle."

"What is Rumspringa?" Tony asked as he tried to get his tongue around the unfamiliar word.

"The Amish live a very separate life around here, they don't spend a lot of time dealing with us Englishers or outsiders except for business and services they are unable to provide for themselves. They live without a lot of things and they want to make sure that those that take on membership in their church are committed to the lifestyle, they allow their children when they are in their late teens a chance to try life like an English person. The kids are allowed to have cell phones, listen to music, drive cars and watch tv. Most of kids take it easy, while others chose to party like crazy and travel out to some of the larger cities. Although I'd say 95% of them get it out their systems pretty quickly, they return back to their families and join the church get married and start their own families. Some choose to live outside their faith. Jacob was one of them." The man shared. He'd lived in the community most of his life and had a pretty good understanding of the Amish he lived near. "I don't think he's in contact with anyone around here anymore."

"Well he may not be living here any longer, but I think that he is still in touch with people here. The phone just outside the general store made a phone call to him just this past Saturday." Gibbs told him

"Most Amish don't have phones on their farms, a good many of our Amish community members use that phone. I couldn't tell you who was calling Jacob."

"Could you point us in the direction of Jacob's home? We'd like to see if he's here."

"His parents own a farm about five miles south of here." The Hunter shared and told them way to get to the farm.


	6. Chapter 6

"Take it easy with the approach Agent Gibbs, the Amish are a very forgiving people, but they chose their separate lifestyle because of their strong faith. Tread gently if you want to get any answers from them and be patient." Hunter warned, Gibbs nodded his head and thanked him for his help before his team turned to leave. As they left the restaurant, Ziva looked over at a young Amish woman who looked away quickly after she made brief eye contact.

"That girl was listening to our conversation." Ziva announced as they found themselves back in the car.

"What girl?"

"There was a girl at the table one over from the Sheriff, she looked away when I looked over. She had a look on her face that said that she new something."

"How could you tell that?" Tony asked.

"My gut says so." Ziva assured.

"Lets go and see if the Lapp's have heard from their son lately." Gibbs suggested and they made their way out of town. As they came to the laneway that lead to the family farm, they stopped first at the familiar roadside stand. Two girls one easily in her early teens and another who appeared to be around ten sat on the bench on the shaded side of the stand. They both wore purple dresses with black aprons and white head coverings. The dresses were identical except for the size. Both girls were barefoot but as they slowed down the car and got out the girls stopped their talking and stood to assist the team.

"Fresh corn off the field today sir." The older girl offered. "Or would you care for some peppers. Mamm has had a very goot crop this summer."

"The fresh produce looks wonderful, but we were hoping to talk with Joseph Lapp." Gibbs offered.

"Daed, is probably his workshop." The younger girl told them.

"Rachel, don't go sharing private things about our family to strangers." The older girl snapped at her sister in another language.

Tony turned his head to Ziva who only got a few words from the statement confused as it was true German that they spoke, more a mixture of several languages.

"I'm sorry, is there something I can help you with?" The older girl asked this time in English.

"We're looking for your brother Jacob Lapp." Gibbs shared slowly. The older girl looked surprised when she heard her brother's name.

"Jacob doesn't live here anymore." The girl started.

"We know." Gibbs assured. "You haven't seen him recently?"

"Not since after we buried Grace." The girl paused.

"Mary, we haven't spoken of Grace in a long time." Rachel started.

"Rachel, come help me close the stand and we'll take these people to speak with Daed." Mary turned to her sister and the two girls quickly closed the stand. The team went back into car, but the two girls climbed onto an old bicycle and Mary who appeared to be very adapt at riding the bike with her sister made her way up the laneway in front of the car. The sound of the car alerted the older family members who came out of the house and barn to see their daughters and the car following them.

"Daed, these people are looking for Jacob." Mary shared with her father quickly as the team got out of the car.

"Go into the house with your mother and stay there till I tell you its okay to come out." Joseph ordered and the two girls ran into the house. Gibbs and his team approached slowly and introduced themselves much like the Sherrif suggested.

"We're sorry for intruding." Gibbs started.

"Sorry is an easy word to say, your actions do not say you are sorry." Joseph shared curtly. "My daughter says that you are looking for Jacob yah?"

"Your son has gone missing, he didn't report for duty three days ago. Very little is available to tell us where he might be, but a few signs directed us back to his home town." Tony shared.

"I will talk with the men folk, but it is not wise for me to speak freely about my son in front of unmarried woman." Joseph started looking at Ziva. Ziva wasn't sure where to go with that statement but nodded her head. "My wife and daughters will offer you something to drink if you go to the back door of the house." Ziva looked at her team mates before going walking back to the house.

"You speak of my son like he is trouble." Joseph shared as the three men spoke in the shade of the barn.

"We're not sure if he is trouble outside of being AWOL." Gibbs started.

"My son is in the Military?" Joseph asked, the idea being very foreign to the man.

"He is involved with the medical side. He does not actively fight, he helps those that are injured or sick." Gibbs shared. "It is unusual for Jacob to not be around, have you seen him lately?"

"He has not been home since he left us several years ago. He chose not to join the church and left home to find his own way after his sister was killed."

"Yes, we have been aware of your tragic loss." Tony noted.

"It was a horrible time for our family. Jacob was already so confused about his choices, that I think it sent him further in the other direction. He left soon after the grieving time was complete."

"So he hasn't been in touch with anyone lately?" Gibbs asked.

"Not that I am made aware of we have not received a letter from him since Christmas." Joseph sighed. "Jacob chose not to become a member of the church, his choices in his life do not make us love him any less and we hope that he will come back to us eventually. He has not been here on this farm, God's honest truth I tell you."

* * *

"Thank you ." Ziva thanked as she took a drink of the cool juice. The inside of the farmhouse was cooler than she thought it would be. The dark wood furniture and well worn benches surrounding the table in the kitchen felt warm and friendly.

"Would you care for a cookie?" Mrs Lapp asked. Her two daughters sat on the other side of the table, a baby lay sleeping in a cradle near the fireplace and a five year old boy played with a stack of blocks close by.

"How many children do you have?" Ziva asked. She counted four in this room alone, and she new that she had two others.

"I've been blessed with eight children. Jacob is the oldest, then Hannah, she's moved out with her husband almost a year ago, Mathew is out in the fields today, then Mary here, and Rachel, the little one there is Issac and the boppli is Josiah." Mrs. Lapp shared. "We had Grace for seven years before she was taken from us."

"She was my older sister." Rachel shared.

"Jacob, your oldest. You had hoped that he'd stay and help your husband on the farm?"

"That was Joseph's hope, but Jacob had other plans." The older woman smiled sadly. "Jacob wanted more from life than being just Amish as he put it. Sometimes as a parent you just have to let your children go."

"Jacob has been missing for almost a week." Ziva shared. "We had hoped that he had come back here."

"We haven't seen him." Mary started. She looked at her mother. "Rebecca Zook might know though."

"Hush child." Mary's mother started.

"No Mamma, Jacob is missing. Becca is still pining for him and says she will wait until he comes back before she settles down. She told me that she even has his phone number and she calls him."

"If you speak the truth, than these people need to speak with her." Joseph started from the kitchen door.

"How do we find this Rebecca?" Ziva asked.

"She'll probably be at the gathering tonight." Rachel started.

"What gathering?" Tony asked.

"The young people get together after chores are done for the evening and visit." Rachel started.

"We do not encourage all these meetings away from chaperones, but the young people have their time of running around." Joseph started.

"Rumspringa." Ziva returned.

"Yah, some still call it that."

"We're planning on meeting at the Covered Bridge. There is small park with a picnic shelter and campfire pit." Rachel shared. "People will probably start arriving around 8:00pm."

"You think that Rebecca will be there?" Gibbs asked.

"I know that she will be there because she is picking me up at the stand in her brother's buggy."

"Well then, I guess that is as much help as we can provide." Joseph nodded. "I must get back to work then, and I encourage my daughters to do the same, the produce will not sell itself out at the stand." With that everyone was dismissed.


End file.
